Draft Nation’s Focus: NFC West

The NFC West has gone from one of the strongest divisions in football to one that's struggling all around. Teams that once were consistent contenders are now looking for new identities and core players to build around.

Ian Stuart Martin will break down prospects that could be core players for the 49ers, Cardinals, Seahawks, and Rams.

49ers:

The San Francisco 49ers and Kyle Shanahan have fallen from being in the Super Bowl to going 6-11 in 2024. The biggest problems facing the 49ers are two-fold: the 49ers have many highly talented players who are being paid at market value, and two, injuries. They’ve needed to shed good pieces like DT Javon Hargrave and WR Deebo Samuel, as both players are getting older and there’s a chance they could regress. If they didn’t make such moves, they may have gotten stuck with contracts that limit their ability to build the best possible roster. And of course, many of the top players on the 49ers have histories of injuries. With these two factors in mind, the best possible strategy for the 49ers to employ during the draft is to trade down and get assets. The NFL saw how the Rams, a division rival, have rejuvenated their team in two seasons. They did this by having 15 rookies on their 53-man roster to start the season in 2024. The 49ers need to maintain the top-level talent they have as well as picking up players that can be starters on rookie contracts. The 49ers don’t need more blue-chip guys. What they need are solid starting-level players on cap-efficient rookie contracts. The following are standout players that fit that mold.

● Mason Graham (IDL, Michigan) - If the 49ers decide to not trade down, their pick would be best used on a player like Mason Graham. Graham is a familiar name to fans who have followed Draft Nation’s coverage of the 2025 NFL draft. Graham doesn’t have the most upside of all the players in the draft or even players on Michigan’s defensive line this past year. Kenneth Grant has a much higher ceiling. However, Graham has the highest floor of any of the defensive linemen in this draft by a wide margin while still having a Pro-bowl ceiling. Graham is a solid piece to add to a defensive line that has been missing a true anchor since the 49ers traded DeForest Buckner for the 14th overall pick, used to select Javon Kinlaw, in 2020.

● Walter Nolan (IDL, Ole Miss) - Walter Nolan is another high-floor day-one starter the 49ers could pick. Ideally, the 49ers would trade down to select Nolan. Nolan is a compact hard-nosed defender who, like Graham, has a high motor that keeps him in plays. Nolan was a centerpiece for an Ole Miss defense that broke school records for total sacks with 52 and tackles for loss with 120. He can also play in a zero-technique to a five-technique in case the 49ers have injuries. Picking up a solid bruising starter, who has improved each year, has positional flexibility, and has no major injury history is music to the 49er’s ears.

● James Pearce Jr. (EDGE, Tennessee) - James Pearce Jr. is one of the players the 49ers could select if they decide they do want a blue-chip prospect. James Pearce Jr. is a very solid player who will step in as the third edge rusher on the 49ers roster. He has a well-developed rush game that pairs excellent speed rushes with a good bullrush. However, unlike Nolan or Graham, he does need significant development to be a starter. Pearce’s weakness is his run defense. Pearce had 393 run defense snaps over his three years at Tennessee and will need to add muscle to emphasize his already surprising strength while maintaining his speed. If he focuses on developing his run defense techniques, which will take time, then the 49ers will have a solid passing downs edge to pair with Nick Bosa.

Cardinals:

The Arizona Cardinals and head coach Jonathan Gannon have spent a lot of their offseason improving their defense through free agency. They could select a defensive player with their first-round pick but there are too many quality defensive tackles and edge rushers later in the draft to justify selecting one in the first. Also, by spending as much as they did on Dalvin Tomlinson and Josh Sweat, they are freed to improve two holes in their roster with the draft. Kyler Murray needs more tools in his bag and more protection.

● Kelvin Banks Jr. (T, Texas) - Kelvin Banks Jr. was a blue-chip prospect from high school to college, now he has become one of the top offensive line prospects in the 2025 NFL draft. Banks brings the best footwork of nearly all offensive line prospects in this draft. He has incredible agility and rare quickness for a guy who is 315 pounds. Watching Banks lead block on a screen play or in a run play would make anyone think they are looking at a veteran NFL player.

The reason the Cardinals would want him is because although Banks played tackle his entire career, he has shown the tools to be a much better guard. This isn’t to say Banks couldn’t play tackle. He is limited slightly because of his length but his agility makes up for it when playing at tackle. However, if Banks is moved to guard, which is more traditionally used as a puller or lead blocker, then he can dominate at the next level.

● Emeka Egbuka (WR, Ohio State) - While the Cardinals did select Marvin Harrison Jr. in the first round, pick four of last year’s draft, they can still add to the wide receiver room. Harrison Jr. is one of the most physically gifted receivers in the NFL and showed it last year. Although he struggled with hands early on Harrison Jr. improved by the end of the season. Now, the Cardinals can give him a running-mate whose skill set is complimentary.

Emeka Egbuka is one of the most technically polished receivers in the 2025 NFL Draft. Egbuka could instantly fill in at the slot position in the Cardinals offense and this is because he is an incredible route runner. Egbuka has razor-sharp cuts in his routes, works in head fakes to manipulate zone coverages, is great at adjusting speeds to throws, and has a good catch radius. He doesn’t have the raw speed or insane physical gifts of a player like Matthew Golden, but the Cardinals already have that receiver in Harrison. What the Cardinals can get with Egbuka is someone who is a consistent separator and disciplined technician who requires defenses to focus on him from day one and not in a year or two.

Seahawks:

The Seattle Seahawks and head coach Mike Macdonald need to improve their offensive line this year. Last year, Geno Smith made lemonade out of some really rough lemons. The reality is that Geno Smith is a very experienced NFL quarterback who could work with, and arguably cover up a poor offensive line. Sam Darnold, the new quarterback, is a veteran quarterback but needs a good offensive line to be effective.

● Grey Zabel (T, North Dakota State) - Last year, Laken Tomlinson and Charles Cross were the only two offensive linemen to play more than 57% of all offensive snaps last year. Tomlinson is now with the Texans, so the Seahawks need offensive linemen who can start now. Zabel played against lower competition and there is an adjustment to playing a NFL schedule. But he is one of the most pro-ready offensive linemen in this draft class. His main areas of weakness are his arm length and his tape showing occasional trouble dealing with speed rushers. However, Zabel has some of the best core strength and balance of all of the offensive linemen in the 2025 NFL Draft. He will get incredibly low and stable despite being 6’6” while his core allows him to utilize that height once he wins the initial pad level battle. Zabel has a great football IQ and reads defenders well.

Zabel showed at the Senior Bowl he would be amazing at center or guard, both positions the Seahawks desperately need upgrades. If there was a single thing that makes Zabel “THE” prospect for the Seahawks is that he started 36 consecutive games in his career at North Dakota State. The Seahawks have the chance to add a positionally flexible, technically sound, durable offensive lineman to their roster and need to jump at the chance to add Zabel.

● Armand Membou (T, Missouri) - If the Seahawks feel they need a tackle upgrade from Abraham Lucas, then there is no better choice than Armand Membou. As one of the few prospects who has the physical talents to play tackle at the NFL level, Membou would slot in on day one for the Seahawks. Membou is one of the rare tackle prospects under 6’4” who has a strong argument not to be pushed inside to guard. This is because of Membou’s insane athleticism. He is 320 pounds and 6’3” but can run a 4.91 40-yard dash, can broad jump 9’7”, and his vertical is 34 inches. Respectively those numbers are in the 97th percentile, 95th percentile, and 94th percentile. Membou may not have the height of a traditional tackle but his polished footwork, his athleticism, and a Seahawks team that needs consistent starters will make him a great choice if he falls to pick eighteen. The Seahawks could consider trading up even to get Membou if he falls past the Bears at pick ten.

Rams:

The Los Angeles Rams and Head Coach Sean McVay have very quickly turned around one of the worst teams in the league from 2022. The Rams embraced the youth movement within their team by finding and developing talent from later rounds in the draft. Now that they have a solid foundation the Rams can look to adding those last few pieces that can bring them back to another Super Bowl with Matthew Stafford.

● Jihaad Campbell (LB, Alabama) - Who really needs future picks when you are the Los Angeles Rams? If Les Snead, GM of the Rams who famously traded every first round pick the Rams got from 2017 to 2023, decides he wants to get the best linebacker in the 2025 NFL Draft then he can do so. It might cost a future first rounder to move up high enough to select Campbell but when has that stopped the Rams before. Jihaad Campbell is a versatile defender that has played snaps at safety, linebacker, and edge for the Crimson Tide. He has a unique skill set that would be much appreciated in Los Angeles. Currently, the top two linebackers for the Rams, Omar Speights and Nate Landman, are both hard-nosed run-defense specialized players. Campbell brings a skillset that compliments Speights and Landman by being an excellent coverage player that also shows signs of positives as a pass-rusher. Campbell’s impressive 4.52 40-yard dash while being 235 pounds shows on tape that he is a true sideline-to-sideline linebacker.

His downside is he only has two years at middle linebacker. In high school, Campbell played wide receiver and defensive end. So, while Campbell’s instincts and coverage skills at linebacker have been impressive it is within the context that he is a converted edge-rusher. Teams in the NFL could adjust gameplans to account for his coverage skills while FBS schools had underrated and under schemed his coverage ability. This makes Campbell a truly Boom-or-Bust prospect that could develop into one of the Ram’s best players in a couple years or is unable to improve once teams key in on his current ability.

● Trey Amos (CB, Ole Miss) - If the Rams would go against their nature, they could also trade down in the draft in order to add more pieces as insurance. Insurance to deal with them having many of their defensive backs in the last years of their deals, Ahkello Witherspoon, Cobie Durant, Derion Kendrick, and Kamren Curl. This along with their starting right tackle, Rob Havenstein, also being in the last year of his deal.

The Rams could trade down, pick more players in the mid-rounds, and develop them so they can be ready to step in if they lose current starters to free agency. One of the prospects they could select is Trey Amos. Amos has excellent physical tools as a big-bodied press-man corner. He has great hands on the line of scrimmage paired with quick footwork which combine helping him throw off routes early. Amos is also great at mirroring wide receiver’s routes due to his excellent short-area burst. His tackling is solid but is inconsistent due to falling back on arm tackling too often. When dealing with zone defense, Amos shows signs he has the football IQ to read quarterbacks and figure out routes but is indecisive too often and hesitates. He will over-commit to routes early and flip his hips or will give too much space on deeper crossing routes but these can be taught. If the Rams select Amos, they can give him time behind veteran defensive backs to improve his technique and learn to trust his eyes and instincts more. If the Rams can coach Amos out of his indecisiveness and improve his discipline, his floor is a strong CB2.